S3 | Ep.8 Memorial Stones: Faithful in the Wilderness | Jessica DeYoung

In this conversation, Brenda sits down with speaker and founder of Made Whole, Jessica DeYoung, for a rich and vulnerable exchange about wilderness seasons, the power of obedience, and what it looks like to invite God into the middle of your mess — not just the end. Jessica shares how a months-long season of spiritual silence became one of her most treasured memorial stones, and how learning to ask "Lord, what are you teaching me right now?" in the middle of life's hardest moments changed everything.

Guest Bio 
Jessica DeYoung is a Christian speaker and founder of Made Whole, helping women grow in faith and walk with God in real life. She shares honest stories and practical encouragement that move listeners from inspiration into action. As the host of the Perspectives into Practice podcast, Jessica has guided thousands of women through episodes focused on grounded discipleship and everyday transformation — helping them apply Scripture to real struggles and take their next faithful step.

Connect with Jessica: Website | Facebook | Instagram | X (Twitter) | YouTube | TikTok | Pinterest | LinkedIn

Chapters 

01:32 Jessica's Life-Changing Memorial Stone 

05:53 Navigating Wilderness Seasons 

11:46 Putting Perspective into Practice 

19:01 The Importance of Sharing Your Story 

25:13 The Messy Middle of Faith 

27:28 Obedience in Wilderness Seasons 

32:37 The Power of Delayed Obedience 

38:23 Listening to God's Voice 4

4:31 Finding Freedom in Forgiveness 

49:26 Encouragement and Connection

Start documenting your own "Memorial Stones" today.

#RememberGod #MemorialStones #FaithPodcast #ChristianWomen #WildernessSession #TrustingGod #JessicaDeYoung #MadeWhole #PerspectivesIntoPractice #Obedience #HearingGod #FaithJourney #ChristianPodcast #SpiritualGrowth #WomenOfFaith #GodIsFaithful #MessyMiddle #FaithInHardTimes #Forgiveness #ChristianSpeaker #BrendaSavanhu

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

I went through a very quiet season. And it was as if the Lord like took Holy Spirit away from me when God left Jesus on the cross. That's that's how deep and and painful and hurtful and dark that it felt. And I didn't understand why, because I was doing everything right. I was doing everything that I teach other women to do, and we talk about on the podcast. It just felt heavy and quiet. Like the words in the Bible weren't words anymore. It was just letters. Like it wasn't coming alive. I was praying and I wasn't hearing anything. It was just empty. I kept crying out to the Lord. I kept crying out, Lord, where are you? Why have you forsaken me? Where have you gone? I'm in the middle of all of these great good things, and you are just not here.

SPEAKER_02 0:50

Welcome to Remember God, a podcast where we practice remembering God in the midst of trials. Hi, I'm Brenda, and I help followers of Jesus recall God's miracles to successfully navigate current challenges. Welcome to Remember God, a podcast where we practice remembering God in the midst of trials. If you're a follower of Jesus who's in a difficult season and finds yourself wanting to take control of the situation instead of trusting God, this is the place for you. This is where we will help you remember the places where God has shown up in the past, giving you the tools and strength to navigate through today's challenges. I'm Brenda Savannu, author of Memorial Stones, writer, coach, and your companion on the journey of remembering what God has done. And today I'm so excited to welcome our guest to the show, Jessica DeYoung. Jessica is a speaker, author, and founder of Made Whole, which is a ministry helping women move from fear of outcomes to choosing obedience. That's a powerful word, obedience. As the host of Perspectives into Practice podcast, she has guided thousands of women through 58 plus episodes focused on grounded discipleship and Monday transformation. Jessica is known for her vulnerability and heart-to-heart conversations over coffee with a dear friend. She specializes in helping women navigate the uncertain in-between seasons by applying scripture to real struggles, which I think is incredibly important. And ultimately, Jessica empowers women to take their next faithful step. Welcome to Remember. God, Jessica, I'm so excited you're here.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Well, thank you. Me too. This is going to be an amazing conversation. I already know.

SPEAKER_02 2:46

Yeah, right. I'm so looking forward to it. Um, and so you you've listened to my podcast and you know that it's it's about remembering God, uh, and it's based on my book, uh, Memorial Stones. So, my first question for you is when you look back over your life, what Memorial Stone would you like to start with today?

SPEAKER_01 3:06

Just recently, I had one that has just changed my life, my view of so many seasons that we go through in life. And I'm so thankful that the Lord allows me to go through things, although I don't always want to be the strong one, and I don't always want to be the one that has to go through things to to share it with others. But I'm thankful that the Lord has entrusted me in that because I I will share. I'm an open book. And just recently I went through a very quiet season, and it was as if the Lord like took Holy Spirit away from me. It I when I when I when I close my eyes and think about it, I think about when God left Jesus on the cross, which like that sounds like such a dramatic thing, but that's that's how deep and and painful and hurtful and dark that it felt. And I didn't understand why, because I was doing everything right. I was doing everything that I teach other women to do, and we talk about on the podcast. And it just felt heavy and quiet, like the the words, the words in the Bible weren't words anymore. It was just letters, like it wasn't coming alive, it wasn't speaking to me. I was praying and I wasn't hearing anything. It was just empty, it was just emptiness. And but I kept crying out to the Lord. I kept crying out, Lord, where are you? Why have you forsaken me? Where have you gone? I'm in the middle of all of these, these great good things, and you are just not here. And it took this went through by for several months, and I just stayed faithful. I stayed consistent in my prayer and talking to him and telling him everything, consistent and opening the word over and over again. And after several months, he finally, he finally started speaking to me again. And he was showing me that what I just went through was what so many of his daughters experience on a daily basis is that nothingness with him, that that numbness, the emptiness, the quietness in their soul. And a lot of them aren't strong enough to continue because they think, well, I've I've tried once and it just it just didn't work. So I'm gonna, I'm gonna leave. And he he's just reminding me that no matter how many times you say it, no matter how many things you you tell people to do, it all comes back to self, that you have to actually put that into practice, that I can't want it more for you. And no matter how hard I strived to do all the right things and to check all the right boxes, that didn't bring me any closer to the Lord because it was about the relationship. And when I finally surrendered and just went, Lord, I don't know what you're doing. I need you to show me. It was at that point that it started to just crack open. And and it gives, it just gave me such a beautiful view of of our our sisters in Christ and what they're going through. And it made me really feel not just sympathetic, but empathetic for them. And so not I if I didn't have a burden enough for women, I definitely have even more of one now. And it just softened my heart to be soft to them and remind women that you're not lost in the wilderness. You're not lost in the season that you're going through. God is still there. He just might be stripping away things so that you can see it even more clearly and fully rely on him and surrender. And that is a stone that I never ever want to forget. And I'm so thankful that I went through it, but it was it was a hard time. It was hard.

SPEAKER_02 7:01

Yeah, I mean, I'm riveted as you shared that um because I went through a similar season. And it's you're right, right. It's just so quiet, and you're like, what is going on? Um I even asked friends, are you hearing from God for me? And they're like, no.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

Yes, yes. I asked my best friend who is like my my sounding board, that one that's like, hey, Holy Spirit and I, you know, we we have a thing, they have a thing. And I did. I asked her, I was like, hey, so God's really quiet. Um, he telling you, he telling you something. Is there anything I need to know over here? And he's like, she said, nope, but I'm gonna pray for you. I said, thank you. Thank you very much. And you know, that's what you need is that community to come around you, to have someone to say, Hey, this is this is hard. And, you know, she's like, I'm gonna pray for you. You just keep going. And that's what we have to do.

SPEAKER_02 8:00

Yeah, it reminds me of Elijah when he was fleeing from Jezebel and he went and he sat under the broom tree. Um, I'm sure he was feeling betrayed, right? And like, where is God? Why am I the only one?

SPEAKER_01 8:18

Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And and and we know that he wasn't the only one, and I knew that I wasn't the only one going through this, but I didn't understand because I was doing all the right things. That's what I didn't understand. I'm like, Lord, you called me into ministry. I write books and devotionals and talk on podcasts about all these things. I'm doing all of the things that I'm telling all these other women to do. And he was like, have you ever considered it's not about you? Girl. Wow. Have you ever considered it's not about you? I'm like, yes, Lord, I I have considered that. Didn't think a whole whole bunch about it, but now that you bring it up, let's talk. And uh it it definitely changes your perspective when he uh, you know, whips you into shape that way because I wasn't thinking about others. I was just thinking about me and how much I missed my relationship with him and how it wasn't fair. And you know what? Sometimes life isn't fair. But that that wilderness season that I know now I had a friend I would tell was telling her about this quiet moment, these this season. And she said, I really feel like Holy Spirit is saying that that's your will, that was your wilderness. And I just, I just broke down because I was like, that's exactly what it is. And a wilderness isn't, it's not a punishment. It's not, it's not abandonment from the Lord. It really is, if we allow it to be, a formation and a dependence on the Lord and a refinement for, you know, how to get closer to him. And and I am even closer to him now, even going through that. But I could have just completely turned and said, well, fine, if you're not gonna talk to me, then I'm done and we're I'm over this, you know, but I didn't. And I feel like that's a really, really good reminder for women listening that you you're not lost, you're not lost in the wilderness. God is still there with you, and he might just be stripping away things that have actually kept you from fully relying on him.

SPEAKER_02 10:22

Yeah, and when you said um he's like, have you considered that this is not about you? Um, I'm I was I'm like paging through my Bible because I'm trying to find the verse exactly. It's in Hebrews where it says, you know, Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

And whenever I think of that verse, I always say to myself, the joy set before him is us. Um, and so he chose to endure that pain um for us, for the joy set before him. And so God was taking you through this wilderness season um for the joy set before you for other women, so that other women can hear your story and find liberty.

SPEAKER_00 11:16

Yeah. Yeah. Uh it's yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:21

It's it's a deep heavy one. And it's it's and it's so like fresh and raw because it was just maybe five months ago now that the Lord started talking back to me. So it it just felt like an eternity. But I hope that those that are listening that you know that if you're in that wilderness season, if there's a a time where you feel like the Lord has left you or that he's far apart, first of all, you're not alone in that. There's so many more of us that have gone through that. But second of all, he he's not left you. He hasn't gone from you, he hasn't forgotten you, he hasn't forsaken you. He's bringing you up to a higher place. And if we press in, if we if we rely on him, if we lean in and surrender everything that we think that this season should look like, he's gonna, he's gonna he's gonna make it work and it's gonna be amazing.

SPEAKER_03 12:15

Wow. Yeah, that was that just that touched my heart.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Um and you, as you were sharing that, you mentioned right, putting that perspective into practice, which is the title of your podcast. Um and it is what you love to do the most, right? Just um helping women. So can you go into more detail about that? That what does it mean to put perspective into practice? Can you give us some practical examples?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah. So when the Lord first gave me this idea of perspectives into practice, it was actually when I was writing devotionals seven years ago. And I I I tend to see that in sermons or in Bible studies, even you know, podcasts that we listen to, there's a lot of times that they give you this really wonderful information and they give you their perspective on things, but there's nothing applicable at the end. It's like, wow, this is a really great scripture from a Sunday pulpit, but how do I turn that scripture into something I can use on a Monday, a Tuesday, a Wednesday until I go back to the next? And so it's taking someone's perspective or even your own perspective for something that you've gone through, and then looking back and saying, what can I do differently in that? What can I take away from this? Lord, what are you teaching me in this? And then actually putting that into practice, applying that into your life and walking forward into that. And just a simple everyday thing, and it's not even a biblical thing, but it's something that we still use to this day, is our our family, we travel full-time in a in a 40-foot motor coach, and we've done it for over four years now. In the very beginning, we learned a lot, a lot of things, right? We had never done this life before, and who knew that they just give you keys to a bus that you could drive that you've never driven buses before, but they do. And so we we learned a lot, right? And so, in this, there were many, many lessons and still are of just travels. When when we start first started, we thought, oh, this is the day that we're gonna travel. And we very quickly realized that that is not a great travel day because everyone else is traveling on that day. So then we had to go, hmm, what can we do differently? What what day can we choose differently? And so then we talked about that and we actually put it into practice and we don't try travel on those days because we know that statistically and and actually, there's a lot of people that that travel, like on Saturdays. You'd think, oh, Saturday will be a good day. No, because everyone's off of work in there. Oh, Sunday will be a good day because everyone should be home and getting ready for the week. No, they are coming back from whatever they did on the weekends. And so those two days are just off, which again, it sounds like such a simple thing, like, well, yeah, of course, you just changed that. But that is now we have a perspective that we see that those days are busy and we don't like a lot of traffic when we're driving. So, how can we change that? And so that we don't have all of these stressors, all of these arguments of, oh, watch that over there, or what, you know, why did we go this way? We just stop it and shut it down immediately and say, okay, we're not going to travel on those days because we know that it can cause an issue. And I mean, again, it's just it seems like such an easy thing, but that's exactly what we're doing is we're putting that perspective into practice in our daily life and choosing to be different. And so whether that is something in your everyday, maybe that's in parenting or in marriage or in friendship or in relationships or in your, you know, your your walk with the Lord, in your Bible reading, in your whatever it is, if you see something that gives you a different perspective, what can you learn from that? What can you take into that to either make it better or to help someone else through it and then actually do that thing?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

That's really good. I was chatting with a friend over the weekend and she said we don't do enough um in the church to teach believers that practicality is also spiritual.

SPEAKER_00 16:39

Yeah. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Um sometimes we're so caught up in the spiritual that when we're given practical things to do, we're saying, Oh, I don't feel like God's telling me to do that. Um, or I need to have clarity from God before I do that. But he he's given us the gift of being practical as well.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

Yeah, yeah. Well, and I've got, we've we I mean, I've gone to so many different retreats and and churches across the the country, and you know, there's so many really great things that are taught there. And they're like, hey, this is something that you need to do, and it's biblical, and God tells us to do this, and so we should go out and do that, and then go out and have a great week, which is awesome. You've told us the truth from the Bible, you've told us these things, you've said, you know, you've commissioned us and said, go out and make disciples of people. What does that mean? How do I do that as a mom of four at home? How do I do that as a traveling person? How do I do that in a job where I'm on the phone all day long and I don't get to talk to it? How do I do that? What does that look like practically? And then when we hear that perspective of here's what I do in my daily, go go try that. Ask the Lord, hey, is that something that I could try? And then do that. And so you're exactly right. There's there is a huge gap there. And obviously I'm only one person, but I'm trying to help close that gap to help women to see and men, because there's men that listen to the podcast too, but help them to see that we can we can make a difference and we can actually change. And so you wonder why so many people have a better relationship that with the Lord than you, or why so many people know many more scripture verses than you, or you know, whatever it is. It's because they put a perspective that they've learned into practice into their daily life and they're consistent with it. It's not because they're any closer to God than you are. We're all at the same level. It's that we're practicing and we're positioning ourselves before the Lord and putting into uh you know, putting applic applicable things in in our lives and then doing that. And again, it sounds like such a simple thing. Let's just, yeah, do that one thing. But you but you have to, right? You have to. You have to do it. Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:00

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I mean, I went down that rabbit hole where I there was a season. I think I was just way too spiritual and not being practical enough. Um, and so I was glad for that shift when God highlighted that to me. Are there any testimonies from the women you've spoken to that you would like to share examples of perspectives put into practice?

SPEAKER_01 19:27

So I on my podcast, I do have guests, but then sometimes the Lord will just give me a word, and so I'll do a solo episode. And in one of those solo episodes, I was sharing how important it is to share your story and how sometimes someone needs to hear the middle of your story rather than the wrapped-up end. And that was my thing is hey, if you feel a nudge to share your story, share it. Don't keep it in because when that Lord is asking you to be obedient, even in your hesitancy, that's disobedience. And so if it's put on your heart to do it, and even if it's not wrapped up, which we talk about all the time on the podcast, is that I don't care if you're in the middle of your season. I actually appreciate and love that because then people listening are going, oh wow, everyone doesn't have it wrapped up. This person's right now going through it. And I had a lady reach out and she said, Hey, so I know that you invite us to be guests on there every time, and I've heard that, but I haven't really done it. And so when you said that, that my middle is important, I would like to share. And I'm like, oh my goodness. So just sharing that, right? Now she's putting that into practice and she's not only wanting to be on the podcast, but she's sharing the podcast with others. She's sharing her story with others and being more vulnerable and transparent in what she's gone through and going through. And that's that's just a simple change. She heard something that I repeat over and over, hey, if you have a story and you want to share it, come on, let's chat. And I don't get very many people coming out because it's it's a very it is a vulnerable place to say, hey, here's a mic. Let's put it, let's make this public. But it's so important to share that part. And so I love what you're doing here because you're you're saying, hey, what are those parts in your life that you really want to remember? Where are those things that you just want to make sure that you never forget, but also share it with others and walk in that freedom, walk in that grace that that the Lord has provided for us. And so that would be that was one of the most recent ones that I was just so thankful for because I never really thought I I had thought about that, that you're the middle of your story is what someone needs to hear, not just the wrapped up ending. Because I feel like so many, so often we want to just make Our testimony all wrapped up. We say, Hey, this terrible thing happened to me, but God is good, and and just give it a little thumbs up approval. But what about the people that are in the middle of that and they don't know what freedom looks like on the other side? They don't know what the ending looks like. And they're going, Well, there it wrapped up for them, so maybe it'll wrap up for me. But that could be a 30, 30-year window, right? So when you're in the middle of something, share it. Tell other people, be be open, write it down so that you can remember those things that you're going through.

SPEAKER_02 22:34

Yeah, that's that's so true. That's one of the reasons I like to share, whether it's in my blog or through the podcast, what I'm going through, and then also sharing stories that others are going through because I think we think that but that was so easy for this person, right? And it wasn't, right? They went through something difficult. And I think we're doing ourselves a favor when we share the nitty-gritty of our stories. Um because it just it highlights our humanness. Um and I was just thinking of, let's see, uh reading uh Romans 4 with my friend last night. And um we were reading about Abraham and uh let's see, what verse did we start in? I'm gonna start in verse 18. Uh, and I'm reading the complete Jewish Bible. It says, For he was past hope, yet in hope he trusted that he would indeed become a father to many nations, in keeping with what he had been told. So many will become your seed. His trust did not waver when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead, since he was about a hundred years old, or when he considered that Sarah's womb was dead too, he did not lack of trust. Sorry, he did not lack of trust or decide against God's promises. On the contrary, by trust he was given power as he gave glory to God, for he was fully convinced that what God had promised he could accompl had promised he could do, he could also accomplish. This is why it was credited to him um to his account as righteousness. So we were talking about that, that if you read Abraham's story in Genesis, you wouldn't put these words, right? Because Seraph um gave him Hagar, he slept with her, they had Ishmael, um and then he lied a few times. And so his story was messy, but at the end of the day, right, the Bible says that because he was fully convinced that what God had promised he could also accomplish. And that's what was credited to his account as righteousness. Um, it wasn't perfection in the journey or perfection in navigating that. How many years did that take? 25 year promise?

SPEAKER_00 25:19

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:20

Um, yeah, when he was promised uh Isaac to when he actually had him.

SPEAKER_01 25:27

Right, right. And it's yeah, it wasn't, it wasn't overnight and he was getting older. And that's why Sarah tried to take it into her own hands and go, Well, I know God promised me this, but you know, he's taking a little bit of time, so I'll do it myself. And he laughed when God was like, Hey, Sarah is gonna have a child. She's like, Yeah, right, right. She's like, that that can't be. And I think that when we go through seasons in our life, well, whether wilderness seasons or, you know, good seasons, it's we need to be reminded of that. We need to be reminded of God's track record for keeping his promises and that at the end it will all be worth it. And that we don't, we don't need more information, more research, more inspiration. We we have it all in God's word. We have all of the stories that tell us we are not alone in what we've gone through. There is a middle part that is messy, and some of those people in the Bible are super messy, but God, right? But God, he has a track record of being faithful and keeping his promises and what he started in you, he will finish to completion. And that there is, you know, there's a way out. We just have to recognize that God is in everything. And I I love that you that you brought up that verse because I love Abraham's story. It is messy and he lied and he didn't do everything right, but God still blessed him. And so it's just a reminder to us that no matter how messy we think we are or actually are, God can still bless you. He will turn it all around because his promises are good.

SPEAKER_02 27:07

Yeah. Yeah. And I hope that's an encouragement to anyone listening that um to share their messy story, you know, uh, whether it's on your podcast or my podcast or however the Lord leads them to. Yeah. Just share your messy story because you don't know how it might help someone else. Exactly. Exactly. So I'm thinking of so many things from what you shared, Jessica. Um and I know obedience is like a really big thing for you. Um and so in your wilderness season, you said you kept opening the word. Was that part of your obedience? And then what other things would you attribute to obedience in that season?

SPEAKER_01 27:57

Yes, opening the word. I know because of everything that I know in my whole life story, I know that the Bible is alive and active and that it is sharper than any two-edged sword. And so I thought I was competing, not competing, battling the devil. I thought that this was an enemy attack, and it still could be, but I I haven't gotten clarification on that. But I that's what I thought it was. So I thought I was going to fight it myself. Well, if God's not there and he's quiet, then I'm gonna do all of the things and put on, you know, the full armor of God and use the sword of the spirit, and I'm going to do all of these things, but it it was hard. It was heavy, and it wasn't working the way that I know that it should be because I was striving. And so I didn't, you know, not always in those, in those seasons do we get full clarity, right? We don't we have to do that daily obedience when the Lord says to love God and love others, which those two commands in and of themselves are explained throughout the Bible, what that means. What does it mean to love God? What does it mean to love others? And if you it says, if you love me, then you will obey my commandments. It says that. So it does. If I love him, right? If I love him, then I'm going to obey him and I'm going to do all of the things that I know to do consistently and just continue to press in because it doesn't, obedience doesn't just go away when he asks us to do something. It does it usually doesn't come with big instructions. Although I would love that. I would love just like this big flying billboard to go, here's everything that you need to do. No, he will give you one step. And it's that small daily invitation to trust the Lord, no matter what the circumstance is. And I I fully believe that when God calls you to something, that you have to step out in that obedience. And that delay is disobedience. And I can attest to you that I have done plenty of delaying because I thought, oh, well, that's not really what the Lord wanted, or well, that's not really what this could be, or I'm not really the girl for this. Nobody wants to hear from me. My podcast is a huge, huge testament to delayed obedience, but I was obedient. And then I asked the Lord, hey, um, sorry about that. I apologize for my disobedience in that because you told me to do this in that season. And I didn't. And, you know, I've I just heard a story about obedience, and I was like, that that right there is exactly what I'm preaching. So this lady gets a word to tell someone, and she says, Oh, that's a hard one. Oh, I'll just wait. I'll just, I'll tell her, I'll tell her when it's the right time. So she's waiting for the right time, waiting for the right time. And she doesn't tell the other lady that the Lord has said, Hey, I need you to go tell her this. So she waits and waits. And then finally, one day she says, Hey, the Lord told me this, told me to tell you this. And the lady says, Okay, well, that doesn't really check in my spirit, but thanks for telling me, thinking maybe it's something else. So then the lady that she told it to went to the Lord and was like, Lord, I thought we already walked through this. Like, I thought you you and me already did this. And what what the the meaning of that all is, is that when you delay what the Lord has asked you to do, it is delaying the blessing that someone else could get. It's delaying the word that someone else could get. It doesn't mean that you are changing their life in any way by not, because the Lord is still faithful and he will figure it out in another way. But when the lady came and she gave that delayed word, it didn't hit her because the Lord had already worked with that other woman through what she needed to share with her. So at that point, it wasn't helpful, it was hurtful when she finally shared it. And so I, you know, exactly, right? And I'm like, that's exactly, that's exactly what I'm trying to get out there, is that when God asks you to do something, no matter how inconvenient, embarrassing, unfair, whatever it is, it could be a huge thing. And you're like, Lord, I don't even take that step, take that next step, obey what he says, because if we love him, we will obey him. And it it it's not about you. It's not about you, okay? Not always is it. Sometimes it is for the other person, sometimes it's for us to to so that the Lord knows that he can trust us in these small things, so that he can give us bigger things. And sometimes it's just to do it, not for anything else other than the Lord to see it. And when we remember those things and we walk those things out, it'll change your life. It'll change your life in the best way. And I can personally attest to this in so many ways. And so many women that message me when they hear these stories and they are obedient that they're like, man, that was that was really hard, but I did it and I feel better for it. You know, we are planting seeds when we are obedient, and the Lord is the one who cultivates it and turns it into a fruit. And we don't always get to see that fruit. But again, it's not about us. We are meant to be obedient, and then God, God takes care of the rest.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

That's so true. So, what shifted for you to go from being disobedient about doing the podcast to being obedient?

SPEAKER_01 33:40

The Lord continuing to bring it up to me. I kept praying, Lord, I feel like there's something more that I could be doing. And he's like, Yeah, you're gonna do a podcast. I'm like, no, no, no, like something more. I could be writing more, I could be out there speaking, and he's like, Yeah, do a podcast. And I'm like, no, but like even more, like having a Bible study or doing a retreat. And he's like, Lady, I've already told you. I've already told you. And I'm like, Lord, nobody wants to hear me on the audio, okay? Nobody wants to hear that. Who would I even have on here? Who's gonna even come and share their story? How is this even gonna work long term? I don't even have I excuse after excuse after excuse. And so finally I was, I remember sitting in my car. I had just had a big walk and I was talking to the Lord, and he's like, just do it. I was like, Okay, what okay, just do it. All right. So I sit in my car, I take my laptop to my car and I start researching. How do you have a podcast? What does that look like? So I found a hosting service to put it out to all of the places. I found a recording service that recorded the audio and and took care of it for me. And then I started writing emails and text messages and saying, Hey, um, I have this thing. It's really cool. You wanted to come talk? And it was really hard. It was really hard in the beginning because coming from someone that is friends and then stepping into that ministry line and saying, hey, friend, I'm doing this ministry. Can you come and help me with it? They still see me as things that I've done in the past and the person that didn't have a ministry. And so that has been a really big struggle finding guests from people I know because they're treating it like, oh, well, I'll just come on, come on your little podcast. But I'm treating it as a ministry because that's what it is, and that's what God called me to do. And so it is like a it's like a business in that where there are specific times that we do it and there are specific, you know, forms that we fill out that that bring it through the process and it's all very intentional. And one of the big things that the Lord told me in the beginning, because I believe that every woman has a voice, whether you have a book, a platform, a ministry, uh, you know, a thing on staff, a name tag on staff, you have a voice and your story is worth sharing. And so the Lord started, you know, put me in my lane really quick and said, This is a place for every woman, and we aren't sharing, we aren't promoting. We don't promote or we don't spotlight ministries or podcasts or books. That's amazing if you have one. I love that for you. But on the podcast itself, we don't talk about that. The only thing we're promoting is what God is doing in your life right now. And I do put put websites and stuff on our website. I'll put a link on there. I will tag you on social media, which is all the places that people will go to find you anyway. But I am gonna stay in the lane that the Lord told me to be in, and I'm gonna set my boundary, and I'm not gonna be dis dissuade in any way because God told me. And so if if you don't agree with me, you can take it up with the Lord Jesus Christ, uh, because that's that's not it, right? So that that thing that switched in me was just that continual going back to the Lord, knowing that there was something else that he was calling me to do. And I was, I was like, well, that surely that's not it. And finally he said, just do it. And I did. And that was over a year ago now, and it has just been the most fruitful, amazing thing. And in everything that I do, I say that if just one person is touched by it, then it will have been worth it. And thankfully, more than just one person has been touched by it, and it's reached so many different ears. Even men listening, when women are listening in their kitchen and then their husbands are hearing it in the background. I've had men message and go, hey, that was really great. I'm like, well, that wasn't even for you. It was for the moms. But I'm so thankful that you heard a perspective to take away, to apply in your life, even though it wasn't specifically for you. And that's that's what it is. So seeing the fruit of that already, because I'm just being obedient, even though I didn't do it in the beginning. So hopefully this will be an encouragement to your listeners that even if you have no idea what you're doing, do it anyway.

SPEAKER_02 38:20

Yeah, you know, there's two things uh out of what you shared, there's two things that stood out to me. Um, you you you kept going back, you you were being disobedient, but you also kept going back to the Lord. And then the other thing that was funny to me was that you were saying, Yeah, no, but I feel like I need to do this. And he's like, and and I think, you know, it's funny, but we do that where we're looking for new instruction from the Lord, but he's like, You haven't done the last thing that I told you to do, right? Um, so why don't you do the last thing that I told you to do? So now going back to how you said you kept going back to the Lord, how did you learn to do that? Where did that start in your life? Um, where that began as a practice, and clearly you're continuing to do that in your life.

SPEAKER_01 39:13

Yeah. I would say this has been something I've been practicing for a long time, but probably back in 2016, around the time that the Lord called me into ministry, I had really started just working on our relationship and asking the Lord, I want to be closer to you. I want to hear you more. I want to do exactly what you want for me. I want to see that fruit in my life, not just have it as a theory, but as a lived action. What do I need to do? And then I would just sit and be quiet and listen. And uh in the first couple devotionals that I wrote, I call them downloads from the Lord, but he would give me these beautiful things to see in real life. And I remember one that was so it was one of the first ones that I ever actually wrote down pen to paper. And it was my husband and I were sitting at a dinner table outside on the patio, and the lights had just clicked on for the patio area. And I'm sitting back, we're waiting for our food, and we're just enjoying the nature, looking around. And I look up in the corner of the building, and there is a light, but in front of that light, there is a big spider web. And I was like, wow, that's really spider. So, and my first thought was that's really dirty. But then the Lord said, keep watching. So I'm looking at this light, and what does what does light in the dark bring?

SPEAKER_00 40:48

Bugs, moths, gnats.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

So that spider had positioned perfectly its spider web for dinner in front of a light that he knew that bugs were gonna come to, right? So I'm watching this happen and I'm just smiling. I'm like, Lord, what in the world? And he's saying he's like, this is exactly what the enemy does to us. He perfectly positions himself in a place where he knows you're gonna stumble, he knows that you're gonna be drawn to, and he waits. He lies in wait until you get stuck up in his web, and then he devours you because that is what he's there. He's there to steal, kill, and destroy. And he will take over if you are, you know, brought into that web. And that is exactly what that spider is doing in that corner. He knows that he can get all of the bugs that come right to that because that is where they are drawn. It is an easy trap, and he is getting them, and that is exactly what the enemy does to us is that he pulls us in so keenly. He's he's so meticulous. He knows, he knows what those stumbling blocks are going to be, and he will put his web right there to catch us. And we have to be aware and know that that's not the way that we're supposed to go. And that was one of the first things that I wrote down. And every time that I would go to places, I would be like, Lord, talk to me. Lord, show me what you want me to see in this. And when I would go through things, whether big or small things, I began practicing in the moment, asking, Lord, what are you teaching me in this right now? What am I supposed to learn from this? Instead of going through whatever it was and then asking, Lord, what was that all for? Instead of coming with an attitude on the end part, stepping with God in the middle of the mess, in the middle of the good or the bad, and saying, Lord, what am I supposed to learn from this? What can I take away from this for next time? And what can I show others in that? And that questioning sequence has just helped me to learn more, to share more, to understand more, to be more empathetic to those that are going through things because I have positioned myself for what the Lord has to show me. And again, that's one of the things that I want so many others to do. And when we when we begin to ask the Lord what what he's doing, he will show us. We just have to take that time to listen. And whether that's in the quiet of your quiet time or if that's, you know, when you're doing the dishes, whatever it is, driving in the car, if you are listening for the Lord to speak and you know what he sounds like because you've been reading his word, he's he's there. He's there, he's telling you, he's talking to you. It's whether we we are willing to hear that. And so it has been a decade long process of this practice of asking him in the moment, Lord, what are you teaching me in this right now? And uh it's not easy. I'm not. Perfect at it, there's still times where I get on the other end and go, dude, what was that? Lord, Lord Jesus. I have no idea what that was. And I wasn't, it was just a whirlwind and I didn't even stop to ask. But here I am now. And it really changes your perspective when you stop in the moment of whatever it is, just for that second to say, Lord, what are you doing? Lord, what are you teaching me? Lord, what can I take away from this? What can I share with others? And you don't have to ask all of them, but if you're intentional and asking in the middle, he will show you and it will change your perspective in that entire season. And it's it's so powerful.

SPEAKER_02 44:44

So what do you um what compelled you to even want to listen to the Lord or listen for his voice and sit in quiet and you know, like, and even not just because what's always what's also striking me is that you were sitting on the patio with your husband, so you had company, but you still were listening, and he was speaking to you, right? About that spider web. So yeah, what compelled you to even want to listen to him to begin with, like the very first time.

SPEAKER_01 45:22

Yeah. I have gone through a lot, a lot of things in my life, a lot of traumas, a lot of things that I mean, we would be here all day long if I started naming them. But in those things, like truly, y'all, y'all go back and listen to there, man, there's there's so many. But in in each of those seasons, I realized that I did not ask in the middle or even want to know sometimes what he was doing because I was just so fed up with whatever it was. I was so fed up with the abuse. I was so fed up with the neglect or the abandonment or whatever it, whatever it was, I was so upset about it that I didn't even want to talk to him. And there was, there was a big thing that happened in college. I, through a lot of trauma, got pregnant, decided to have an abortion because I thought that it was going to save my family. And in that, I, it was so hard. And I kept asking the Lord to forgive me and forgive me, forgive me, forgive me. And I remember laying on my bed one day and he and asking him yet again. And he's like, daughter, I don't, I don't know what you're talking about. You're you're forgiven. Because as Christians, we know that when we ask for forgiveness, he press pushes it as far as the east is from the west. He's not the one reminding me, it's the enemy. And so, in that, I I I asked the Lord then, I said, if you're not reminding me, I need you to help me to walk in that freedom, to walk in that forgiveness, because I can't, I can't and don't want to walk in this anymore. And when he answered me in that, it it propelled me to ask in the next time when there, when there was something. Lord, I don't, I don't know if this is this is what I'm supposed to do, but can you show me? Can you teach me? And then he showed me and he was teaching me and he was walking with me in that. And so it was never a one-time thing. It is a continual relationship that I have with the Lord that when I when I ask that, when I when I am intentional and and again position myself in front of him and ask those questions, he is faithful to answer every single time, which wants me to ask again because I know he will. I know he has, I know he will. And so, and that, I mean, that's it. That's honestly it is that he he is the one that's compelled me to keep asking because he keeps answering me.

SPEAKER_02 47:51

Yeah, it yeah, that's that's so beautiful. Um I'm reminded of one of the one of the memorial stones in my book is um it means God has heard that I am unloved, but just that he has heard, right? He's heard where I am, and then he has responded. Um, and as as you're sharing, I was thinking that is a memorial stone that you touch every single day.

SPEAKER_00 48:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 48:25

Right. That um I know that I can come to you, and you are there. And even in that wilderness season, when you were not hearing him the way you would have preferred, and the way you had in the past, you still kept going back, listening, even though you weren't hearing anything, opening your Bible, even though they it was just words on the page. Um, and then eventually he's like, No, actually, yeah, I am here, but I'm teaching you something. Uh, I'm revealing a different facet of myself. I am producing fruit in you.

SPEAKER_01 49:09

Yes, that's exactly it. And when when I I have felt unseen and unheard my whole life, I always felt like I needed to perform or do more or be better or or you know, make a bigger scene or make sure that I just I never felt that way in life. And but but with God, he does see me and he does hear me. And so when I ask and he shows me that he's listening, it makes all the difference, all the difference because he does see and he does hear us. And it's us that have to be willing to hear him when he is when he's speaking back to us.

SPEAKER_03 49:49

Yeah. Wow. This is so good.

SPEAKER_02 49:56

It's so good. I want to keep going, but it's it's time for us to wrap up. And so, Jessica, what I want to ask you is what message do you have for the listeners? What do you want them to take away? Um, share with us where they can find you and even be guests on your podcast. And then would you pray for us?

SPEAKER_01 50:20

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I would like you listening to know that you are not lost. You are not lost. God knows exactly where you are. He hasn't stepped away from you. You can trust him in all things. You can trust him in that next step. Even if you can't see the whole path, he knows exactly what is placed for you and where you're gonna go. So even in the midst of the pain and the hurt, he is with you and he is there. He is holding you together, sweet friend. And I would love to hear your story, even the messy middle. I want to hear it. And you can contact me at perspectivesintopractice.com. You can read the pod, read the blogs, see the podcast, hear the podcast. There's plenty of resources in there for you. And of course, connect with me because I love hearing from people. And uh I would love to pray for us.

SPEAKER_03 51:18

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 51:18

Yeah. Heavenly Father, thank you so much for this opportunity. Thank you for the women that are listening on the other side. Father, you are very, very intentional with us. Lord, give us the eyes to see what you are doing, give us the ears to hear what you are telling us, and give us the words to speak when we're supposed to share. Father, I just pray that you are with each and every person listening. Where whoever is hearing the words coming out of my mouth, Father, I just pray that each one of them feels your peace that passes all understanding. Wrap them in your love. Father, give them the words and the things that they know that they're supposed to do. Continue to remind them, even if they're having that delayed dis that delayed obedience. Lord, we know that you are good and you are faithful and your promises are true, and that you never leave us nor forsake us. Remind us, remind us, keep reminding us that you are always with us. And friend listening, you can always go back to God. Always, always, no matter what you've done, no matter what you might do, no matter what you have done, He is there for you. He is with you always. Father, thank you for loving us, even through our mess.

SPEAKER_00 52:35

Thank you for loving us. We love you, Jesus. It's in your name we pray. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 52:42

Amen. Jessica, thank you so much. I just felt this deep in my soul. So thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 52:50

I'm so glad. This was wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 52:53

Yeah. If this episode resonated with you, there are two things I'd like you to consider. Number one, rate and review the show. This will help other listeners find the show and get the same inspiration and encouragement you got from it. And number two, I would love for you to share this episode with someone you love and someone you think could benefit from hearing this particular episode. Also, if you would like to connect with me outside of this podcast, you can find everything related to me on my website, brendasavanu.com. There you can find my social media links if you'd like to follow. You can find a link to sign up for an email so that you can get weekly encouragement to your inbox, and you can find information about my book and coaching sessions. So, friends, thank you again so much for listening to this episode and thank you for considering sharing it with your friends. See you next time.